MANILA, Philippines - In the pursuit of bringing research results to the beneficiary community while transforming lives of farmers and fisherfolk, the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) is intensifying the implementation of one of its flagship programs, the Community-based Participatory Action Research (CPAR).
As of December 2013, 231 CPAR projects were implemented in 549 sites across the country. Of these projects, 200 focus on agriculture, while the remaining are on fisheries.
To date, 11,291 farmers have benefited from CPAR, consisting of 6,005 farmer cooperators, who are directly involved in the project, and 5,286 farmer-adopters who have embraced the technology introduced to their localities through CPAR.
CPAR targets the development of a modernized agriculture and fisheries through efficient and effective community-based R&D systems.
It highlights the participatory nature of research and development (R&D) and technology demonstration and adoption that are responsive to the specific needs of farming and fishing communities.
Together with an identified team of researchers, CPAR gathers the community members and enables them to decide and act on their needs identified through a participatory method.
Once the intervention is determined, it would then be validated by the community for possible wide-scale adoption.
Dr. Nicomedes P. Eleazar, BAR director, further explained that “in CPAR, specific technologies and interventions are being introduced and taught to the farmer-beneficiaries, particularly, in applying effective total farm productivity within the context of a sustainable production and farming system approach.
Through this initiative, farmers are able to optimize the use of their lands and ensure available and affordable food for the family through the integration of crops, livestock, and aquaculture production into the farming system.â€
In the last few years, CPAR has been widely recognized as a successful R&D program.
It has made quite a name for itself in agriculture and fisheries for its implementation strategies and means of technology verification as signified in the assessment conducted by a group of World Bank consultants for the proposed Philippine Development Program
“This truly shows that we are causing a good effect on the lives of our farmers and fishers,†said Dr. Eleazar.
Among the successful CPAR projects are the Cagayan Valley’s Peanut MAGIC, which uses the CPAR approach towards enhanced productivity in cereal-based areas in the region.
Maria Israel, a farmer-cooperator from one of the project sites in Peñablanca, Isabela, shared her experience in CPAR: “Hindi ko naisip na kahit pala maliit ang production cost ay tataas ang ani kung gagamit ng ganitong teknolohiyang ipinakilala sa amin ng CPAR. Dahil sa CPAR, umani ako ng 2,266 kg per hectare, mataas kumpara sa 850 kg/ha gamit ang sarili kong farmer’s practice.â€
According to CPAR project leader, Rose Mary Aquino of the Cagayan Valley Intergrated Agricultural Research Center (CVIARC), the farmer-cooperators from the rest of the four project sites have demonstrated good results.
Peanut MAGIC has since been launched in the province as one of its “pasalubong†brands in April 2013.
To date, the project is being sustained through collaborations and expansion among peanut-growing regions outside Cagayan Valley.
Another noteworthy CPAR project can be found in the Ifugao province. The project titled, “Community-based Participatory Action Research (CPAR) on Vegetable Organic Farming†aims to locally adopt technologies which are not only profitable for the farmers but are also ecologically-sound.
According to project leader, Dr. Catherine Buenaventura, the highlights of this project’s implementation include empowered farmer-cooperators and a notable yield increase as compared to the farmers’ conventional farming practice.
“The farmers emphasized their being part of such a big project,†she said. Farmers are now more engaged in organic farming which is spreading throughout the province. Vegetables that are organically produced and now marketed in their locality are broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, snap beans, ampalaya, lettuce, pechay, tomato, eggplant, sweet pepper, and carrots.
Also a CPAR success is the project, “Blue Crab (Portunus pelagicus) Fishing using Gill Nets for Marginal Fisherfolk in Bataan.†This project has helped in the promotion of a safe yet effective fishing method in the province as an alternative to illegal fishing that the fishers engaged in prior to the introduction of the CPAR project.
The impact felt is such that fishers were encouraged to adopt the intervention, thus reducing the dangers of illegal fishing. Income has also increased to about 60 percent especially during peak months. The project has been turned over to the local government unit for continued implementation.
The CPAR project, “Polyculture of Milkfish (Chanos chanos) and Black Tiger Prawn (Peneaus monodon) in Brackishwater Ponds,†that is implemented by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Region 3, showed remarkable outcomes as the cooperators have established a direct link to foreign markets in Japan and Korea through the efforts of one of its farmer beneficiaries, Luisito Tolentino.
The project continuously conducts post-trainings for other potential beneficiaries for wide-scale technology adoption. – Daryl Lou A. Battad, DA-BAR